Ergot consequences are drastic; meticulous testing necessary

Testing is important | Ergot is among the major threats that can cause widespread damage

SASKATOON — Chris Clark will never forget the day he rolled a cow over and its two hind feet stayed behind.

“The legs had actually completely separated,” said the Western College of Veterinary Medicine professor.

“It is a particularly unpleasant thing to have to deal with.”

He and colleagues were investigating a complaint from a producer that many of his cows were lame. It was a cold January and some cows were so lame they had to be trucked to the yard from the pasture where they were being fed hay and screenings.

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Clark said when he arrived the animals seemed quite content. They were eating, drinking and ruminating but would not stand up.

“As we started to look at more, almost every animal lost a foot or was in the process of losing a foot,” he said.

Sixty animals were euthanized because they lost their legs, and more losses followed.

“It almost makes you gag when you see how bad the legs are,” he said.

Clark said ergot poisoning was the only possible explanation, even though the feed was long gone.

Ergot poisoning in humans typically presents in the brain.

The mycotoxin is a chemical relative of LSD, and cases have been documented for 1,000 years that could be explained by ergot poisoning, particularly in rye.

“It’s a pretty wicked acid trip, by all accounts,” he told the Saskatchewan Beef Industry Conference.

However, ergot poisoning in cattle shuts down the blood vessels to peripheral areas such as the feet and tail and acts like a tourniquet.

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He said extremities will hurt and go numb when the condition occurs in warm weather, but there is a chance of recovery.

However, limbs will freeze solid and die when it occurs in cold weather of –40 C.

Clarke said the producer he worked with had obtained screenings from a local elevator, but the employee who inspected the screenings for ergot before they were sold was away for three weeks and the feed was not examined.

There is zero tolerance for ergot in grain for human consumption, which means contaminated grain automatically becomes cattle feed.